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| Cooking with Olive Oil |
Olive oil can substitute margarine or butter in a 3:4 ratio for most recipes. In other words, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of margarine or butter, you can substitute for 3/4 cup Olive oil. Do not make this substitution if you plan on cooking the recipe at 400°F or higher. The olive oil will start to smoke at these high temperatures and will make your food have a metallic taste.
Many recipes in the cookbook use olive oil. Those listed below feature olive oil as a primary ingredient. For a full list, please use the "What links here" link.
Baba Ganoush
Baba ganoush is a common Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dip with a creamy, somewhat smoky flavor. It is usually eaten with pita bread although naan or a crispy flatbread also work well.
1 medium-large eggplant, any variety, 1 to 1˝ pounds
2 tablespoons raw tahini
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons olive oil
˝ tsp salt
Paprika or cayenne pepper, as a garnish
Preparation:
Roast the eggplant. This can be done in a variety of ways, but the flesh should be fully cooked and the skin should be burned and falling off easily. An effective method is to prick the eggplant and place it a few inches under a broiler, turning it as the exposed skin blackens, about every 3-4 minutes. Place a pan underneath to catch the juices, and discard them.
Scrape off the eggplant skin. It's all right if you miss a few burned bits.
Finely chop or blend the eggplant flesh with the rest of the ingredients. The consistency should be smooth. Reserve a bit of the olive oil, and drizzle that over the top. Sprinkle with some paprika or cayenne.
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Caesar Salad
1 small head of Romaine lettuce, torn into small bits
Garlic croutons - [Omit for Gluten Free diets]
3 large cloves of Garlic
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of Lemon juice
1/4 cup Olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Egg yolk
Combine all ingredients, except for lettuce and croutons, in a blender. Blend to an even consistency. Combine lettuce and croutons in a large salad bowl. Add bacon bits if desired. Add dressing and mix well. Add pepper to taste.
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English Field Bean Pate
1/2lb / 250g English Beans (or tic beans, daffa beans, brown Dutch beans or foul medames)
approx. 1/4 pint / 150ml Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 large clove Garlic
1 tsp strong flavoured Herb e.g. Thyme, Sage or Rosemary
Preparation:
Soak the beans in water overnight.
Boil them in plenty of unsalted water for 1 hour, until they are soft. Mash them with a fork, pound them in a pestle and mortar or press them through a sieve or mouli legumes.
Add the olive oil, the finely chopped herbs and garlic and the seasoning. If the puree is too stiff add some lemon juice, water or more oil.
Chill and serve with toast.
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Garlic croutons
4 slices day-old French bread, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
Preparation:
Pour the olive oil into a shallow bowl over the garlic and let it soak. Soaking it longer will yield more garlic flavor
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (~180 degrees Celsius).
Strain the olive oil into a pan and fry the bread cubes in it, tossing to coat with oil.
Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and garnish with salt. Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy and dry.
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Pesto
4 oz. fresh basil (100g)
approx. 8 oz. extra virgin olive oil (200g)
1/3 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese (In all cases, good quality parmesan cheese may replace the pecorino for a milder taste). Crumbled Feta cheese also works very well for a different taste.
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
4 cloves garlic
fresh ground pepper and salt to taste.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 425 °F (220 °C). In an oven proof pan toast the pine nuts for 10–15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes. In a small skillet, heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil on medium heat. Crush the garlic and sauté in the oil until soft, about 2–3 minutes. Combine the basil, garlic, cheese and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and chop finely. While the processor is still running, slowly add the remaining oil to reach a paste-like consistency.
The sauce can be used immediately, refrigerated in an airtight container for one week, or frozen for several months. The cheese can be omitted to allow longer storage, as it is most likely ingredient to spoil. Grated cheese is then added right before use.
It's possible to store it in jars for longer, but it's advisable to add a little extra olive oil on top of the filled jar, otherwise the top of your pesto will turn brown as it oxidises in the air.
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Tabouli
1/4 cup bulgur
1 bunch fresh parsley (preferably flat leaf), finely chopped
1/2 bunch fresh mint. Pick leaves only, finely chopped
1 large diced tomato
1 small chopped onion
1 lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
˝ tsp salt, or to taste
˝ tsp pepper, or to taste
Preparation:
Place the bulgur in the lemon juice and set aside for 15 minutes.
When the bulgur is soft, mix all the ingredients: bulgur, parsley, mint, tomato, onion. lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add olive oil last, and toss well. You may need to add lemon juice if needed.
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Tarbes Salad
Salad
1 white or yellow onion
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Half a head of your favorite lettuce
About 5 walnuts, broken into bits
1 ripe orange, cut into small pieces
Small chunk of hard blue or Roquefort cheese, diced
Dressing
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
25 ml Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
A squirt of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Makes 1 generous salad
Preparation:
Cut the onion into half moons and brown it in a bit of olive oil. Make it nice and crispy. Once it's done, put it aside in a bowl and squirt a bit of lemon juice on it.
As the onion is cooking, wash the lettuce thoroughly. Soak it several times. Nothing is worse than gritty lettuce in a salad. Break the lettuce into bite-size pieces and drop them in your spinner under running water. Once it's washed, spin it until it's dry. Wet lettuce will dilute the dressing.
Once the lettuce is dry, put it in a bowl. Add the onions, walnuts, orange and cheese.
To make the dressing, just mix the ingredients in a jar and give them a good shake.
Toss everything together in a big bowl and serve.
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